WHEN her husband died of pancreatic cancer in 2003 Maggie Blanks was so outraged at how little research was done into the disease that she decided she wanted to do something about it.
Having discovered that survival rates for pancreatic cancer had barely improved in forty years she told club members that “there was a crying need for more research.” Only three per cent of sufferers survived for more than five years, she said.
So she set up the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund a year after the death of her husband Alan at the age of 56.
Maggie, pictured above left with member Sue Baddeley, found that the big organisations spent a tiny amount of money on pancreatic cancer research so she was determined to encourage more research that was targeted specifically at the disease. The charity was funding research into improving early diagnosis because symptoms were vague meaning the disease was generally at an advanced stage when discovered.
In the eight years since she founded the charity they have raised just over £4million from donations by members of the public and this has been spent on funding and promoting innovative research into the disease – research that will lead to the development of more effective detection and treatment.
They award grants to researchers in universities, research institutes and hospitals.
Applications for grants are reviewed by specialists in the pancreatic cancer field and a final decision on who is awarded funds is made by a scientific panel.
“This means we fund only the best science,” she said.
Club member Christine Wilkes thanked Maggie for her informative talk and handed over a donation of £50 from the club.
To raise funds for PCRF Sue Baddeley will be tackling the Santa Claus run at Portsmouth on December 16 and is looking for sponsors.